Breakfast Made Easy: Savory Bowls

I do like sweet stuff for breakfast every now and again but mostly I prefer a savory breakfast. I also like my breakfast to be delicious. Obviously. Or maybe it isn’t so obvious. When I eat something that is satisfying and delicious for breakfast I find that I’m satiated for way longer than if I had something boring or not so tasty. It’s not JUST about the calories for me. I mean, those are important too but if it’s also a great experience, it stays with me for longer. It also sets the tone for my day. I’m way less likely to put crap in my mouth if I started off the day with something homemade and fabulous. It sort of raises the bar higher for me. So even if I’m going out, I tend to make better choices.

All About Bowls

I have a few standard formulas for quick breakfast bowls that I love. It doesn’t have to be complicated! In fact, the easier the better because usually I’m running around like a maniac in the morning so I’m not trying to get all Rene Redzepi with this. I try to find the balance between it being fulfilling and being quick. My general formula is a starch, a veggie and a protein of some sort. That protein usually comes in the form of an egg but it does vary, sometimes it’s nuts or dairy.

One of my favorite starches to use in breakfast is polenta. Polenta is a lot like grits and because I grew up in the South I have a special place in my heart for grits. Good grits are a little bit harder to find here in California but most of the local mills have lovely polenta so that’s what I use. It really is basically the same damn thing. The other starches I rotate between are rice and oatmeal. That’s right, oatmeal can be savory too. It’s actually really freaking good. I tried it recently and was blown away with how good it is in a savory dish. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Polenta is basically grits when I make it like this. It cooks up in a couple of minutes which gives me just enough time to chop those veggies and toss them in and then quickly fry up an egg.

Savory oatmeal is a REVELATION!!! I wasn’t sure about it at first but holy moly, this is so freakin’ good!! Oats have a really great texture and plenty of flavor on their own so they really punch up the flavors in this mushroom bowl. Please, please, try this!!

This is like the laziest breakfast ever. This is what I eat on the regular. It’s usually whatever green I’ve gotten from my FarmBox, polenta/grits and a poached egg. And it never gets old.

This is bit of a riff on bi bim bap, which is a Korean rice bowl dish. I always have nori in the pantry, some kind of homemade pickles in the fridge and greens from my FarmBox on hand to saute so some version of this dish is always in heavy rotation in my breakfast repertoire.

Occasionally I just run out of time in the morning to actually sit down and eat, which is another thing I love about these bowls. They are also delicious packed up in a container like this one and taken with me to work or wherever I’m racing off to. It’s always better than the alternative of going hungry or spending my hard earned coins on something far less nourishing and delicious.